Burma Navy commander replaced after six months in job

Sources in the military told DVB that Burma Navy Commander-in-Chief Vice Admiral Zwe Win Myint has stepped down from his position six months after being appointed to the role. The navy has been criticized by the regime in Naypyidaw for its losses during fighting along Burma’s maritime borders, including the coast of Arakan State. 

“General Zwe Win Myint was asked to resign due to incidents in Rakhine,” an anonymous source in the military told DVB. Zwe Win Myint took on the role of commander-in-chief in January, succeeding Admiral Moe Aung, who was appointed National Security Advisor and minister in the regime’s Office Ministry. 

Earlier this month, Major General Kyi Khaing was replaced by Major General Aung Khaing Win as head of Central Command, the Irrawaddy reported. The change is believed to be linked to the killing of senior monk Sayadaw Bhaddanta Munindabhivamsa by the military on June 19. 

Shan State Army deploys in town near Lashio 

More than 1,000 Shan State Army (SSA) troops, which is the armed wing of the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), have entered Mongyai Township located 91 km south of Lashio in northern Shan State. 

“SSPP forces with many vehicles entered the town. We heard that they ordered the military to leave. But we haven’t seen that [happen] yet,” said a Mongyai resident. Fighting between the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the military broke out in Lashio on July 3. 

Colonel Sai Su, the SSPP spokesperson, told BBC that it deployed in Mongyai to protect the town from violence. The United Wa State Army (UWSA) did the same in Tangyan Township on July 11. Regime media reported that UWSA officials promised to protect Mongyai and Tangyan, which is located 135 km from Lashio. 

Over 100 military personnel flee into Bangladesh

Another 100 military personnel and Border Guard Police (BGP) have fled into Bangladesh, the Dhaka Tribune reported. Fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the military continued in Maungdaw Township of northern Arakan on July 11. 

The AA stated that it had seized the two strategic military outposts in Thandwe Township of southern Arakan on July 10. This follows the seizure of two other outposts on June 27 and July 9, including Thandwe Airport on July 6. Eleven towns, including Paletwa Township of southern Chinland, are under AA control.

“Since the [military’s] positions have fallen, I believe Thandwe can no longer be held. If the AA manages to take control of all of Thandwe Township, it will then command the southern region of Rakhine,” a military analyst in Arakan State told DVB on the condition of anonymity.

News by Region

ARAKAN—Sources in Thandwe Township told DVB that two prisoners were killed when heavy artillery struck Thandwe Prison on Friday. Following the attack, the regime’s prison authorities began releasing political prisoners.

“Artillery hit the upper floor of the women’s dormitory, causing the ceiling to collapse and trapping people below. I also heard that some prisoners managed to escape. The authorities first released the men, followed by the women,” said a source close to a recently-released political prisoner. 

MANDALAY—A charity group in Singu Township stated that one man was injured and hospitalized after he was shot by soldiers at a bank in the town on July 10. Residents claimed that soldiers broke into their homes and stores after they fled fighting between the military and the Mandalay People’s Defense Force (MPDF) earlier this month. 

“We have been told that the soldiers broke into the homes and took valuable things. But what else could we have done [to stop it],” said a Singu resident. The MPDF claimed that it has seized control of 11 military outposts in Singu during Operation Shan-Man, which refers to the twin offensives launched in Mandalay and north Shan State on June 25. 

NAYPYIDAW—The Communist Party of China invited representatives from four political parties in Burma to attend “field studies” in Yunnan and Qinghai, as well as to “exchange views with Chinese experts on rural development and the Belt and Road Initiative” from July 20-27. 

Seventeen representatives from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the People’s Party (PP), the Arakan Front Party (AFP), and the Shan and Ethnic Democratic Party (SEDP) were invited by Beijing to “strengthen the relationship” between the neighboring countries. 

YANGON—Five bodies were discovered on July 12, two days after a ferry boat carrying 17 passengers capsized in the Yangon River. Among those killed were students aged 13 and 18, who were brother and sister. 

“The two students died while on their way to school,” a volunteer involved in the recovery operation told DVB. Six out of the eight missing were recovered. Two other individuals, including a pregnant woman, remain missing. Nine were rescued from the river on July 10. 

SHAN—The SHAN News Agency reported that the military carried out a series of airstrikes in Laukkai, located in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone of northern Shan State on Sunday. The city has been under MNDAA control since Jan. 5. It had warned residents about retaliatory airstrikes, providing them with military training, food and fuel.

“The airstrikes [destroyed] many buildings. We are not sure about the number of civilian casualties as people are afraid to leave their homes after the airstrikes,” said a Laukkai resident. Some accused China of cutting off electricity and telecommunications to Laukkai earlier this month. 

Read: Anti Dictatorship in Burma protest outside of China embassy in US. 
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